Synthetic porphyrins - neutral, acidic, basic, water soluble and in soluble - are prepared. Some metal complexes - Cu, Zn, Ni, Co, Cr, Mn, Fe, Sn and V - of these compounds made. Spectroscopic measurements - I.R., UV-visible, NMR, Raman, emission and electron spin resonance - are made where necessary. Kinetics (slow and fast) of metal incorporation, metal removal, ligand binding and protein binding are determined. Equilibrium binding studies between selected proteins (bovine serum albumin, globin, hemoglobin and myoglobin) and several water soluble porphyrins are performed to determine stoichiometry and binding equilibrium.